uk nurses’ union strikes for first

Time In 106 Years

YOU KNOW things are bad when the UK’s Royal College of Nursing decides to strike for the first time in their 106-year history.

Chronic staffing shortages, crippling underfunding and cost of living pressures forced the UK’s peak nursing union to take to the streets for the first time in December, with follow up strike days in January and February.

The union is locked in a bitter wrangle with the UK government over working conditions and salaries within the state-run National Health Service (NHS).

The 6 February strike was particularly powerful as the tens of thousands of striking nurses and midwives were joined by striking ambulance officers, creating the biggest strike in the 75-year history of the NHS.

fun, friendship and fancy footwork on the picket line

Standing on a picket line and protesting issues like workloads and overcrowding is serious stuff, but those who’ve taken part in this kind of action know it can also be wonderfully uplifting.

There is something invigorating about standing in unity with your colleagues, even if you are weary, hoarse, cold or even a little anxious at being defiant.

“We had a lot of nurses from all over the world, nurses who are immigrants who were worried about being deported, all kinds of crazy stuff – and a lot of the time it is scary for them to be out there striking in a very public way,” Pat said.

“But you know it was just so empowering for everyone, being among colleagues and feeling that sense of collective – there is just an energy and a feeling of being part of something important.

“You know there is a tradition here (in the US) called the block party, which really goes back to people of colour, and it isn’t just a party or a celebration, it is a neighbourhood coming together in solidarity to improve their community and be good neighbours.

“And this was similar to that, you know.”

She said while the purpose of the strike was serious, the nurses added a dash of fun to the proceedings which included pumping out tunes from a carefully selected playlist.

“When I first went to the Weiler site of Montefiore, there was a DJ playing, and the nurses were line-dancing and jumping up and down,” Pat laughs.

“Of course this is New York City so you better have some music – you better have something to keep people moving, otherwise you’re dead in the water, you know?

“And they were very clever with the music, clever about changing words to songs to fit the moment and (playing songs) that had lyrics that were very empowering or talking about people power.”

RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen said the strikes were a “tragic first for nursing, the RCN and the NHS”. “Nursing staff on picket lines is a sign of failure on the part of governments,” she said.

The strikes were scheduled to continue until the UK government committed to engage in genuine negotiations to resolve unsafe staffing levels and low pay, which are blamed for the exodus of more than 25,000 nursing staff around the UK in 2022.

There are an estimated 47,000 unfilled NHS registered nursing posts unfilled in England alone.

Pay increases were offered in some jurisdictions, including Scotland and Wales, but members voted against them, saying it wasn’t enough and didn’t address their other concerns.

At the time of going to print, March strike action has been put on hold on the promise of a return to the negotiating table.

The social atmosphere was also an opportunity for nurses to build better relationships with each other as they stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the kerbside, or indeed, kicked up their heels.

“Often they’re so busy they don’t get to talk to each other - especially the more senior nurses and the new nurses… everyone is so busy.

“They work in such a stressful environment, they don’t get to take their breaks together, they don’t really get to talk, they don’t really get to know each other… but that was something that happened on the picket lines.

“We also saw nurses from departments that sometimes have issues with each other talk and see each other’s side of things, and I think through those actions, they built solidarity just like what we strive for in the union.

“I think their relationships with each other became so much more enriched – which of course will be pretty important going forward because their staffing issues aren’t immediately going to be fixed, it’s going to take time.

“But now walking back into the building, they have a sense that this isn’t the end, that the strike was the beginning and they know they are all in this together.”

Montefiore and Mt Sinai nurses ended their three-day strike on January 12 winning ratios provisions and a process which would not only fill the 1200-nurse shortfall, but promised an additional 150 nurses to help ease workload pressures.